Alex Ventajas, who sent his third 9a+ this spring. has flashed Paranoid (8c) in La Stazione.

Can you tell us more about the flash and the beta you did get?
I’m so pleased about this send! Some friends told me “Paranoid” could be a good line to try flash, so I was curious to come here and see! The first day I felt tired since I had some intense route-setting days just before, and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity, so I tried different routes to adapt to this style and get used to this wall.

Yesterday was my second day in “La stazione” and I had the luck to find my friend Davide Bassotto and his father Pietro who helped me visualize all the moves and encouraged me to give it a go! I’m really satisfied with the attempt since I managed to find my flow and climb every section without making mistakes!

The day before I watched another climber trying it, then with Davide and Pietro I visualized the moves from the ground, trying to memorize the sequences and also watch one of their videos. The hard part is that the rock is white so it's hard to see the holds and understand from the ground how their are. When I started climbing, some holds were slightly different compared to what I expected, but luckily it's a route that let you fight and I had a great feeling climbing!

Jules Marchaland, who was 26th in both his Lead WC’s last month, has had an amazing day in Fionnay doing Compass North (8B+), Foundations Edge (8C) and another three 8A’s including a flash of Permanent Midnight (8A+).

Can you tell us more about the amazing day and your new bouldering focus?
My lead world cup season is done. French team choose to focus on Young climbers. And that’s cool, I can go bouldering and accept to loose some endurance 😅. After some Times in Ceuse for the Classic BIO I moved to Fionnay with Simon [Lorenzi].

First day I send « scarred for life » after a really close flash go and decided to go on foundation just after. I completely miss the flash on it and then had some promising goes but not enought to finish it the first day after a really long and hard sesh.

Second sesh I was destroy but really psyched. We warm up around permanent and climb a good 8A (essai transformé). Then I had a good flash on permanent midnight and send it. After that, we moved to the cave. I flashed off the system (8A) for finish the warm up. Check a new beta in foundation and send it in the first try. Then I had to give my flash on compass North and fell the hand in the last jug 🤡. Send it the try after and the send is done 😅

What is next?
Next proj is probably Permanent midnight low (8C+). The new Clement rig. And maybe also fuck the systeme. And just chilling in swizzy is in the plan.

Piotr Oleszczuk has been on a trip to Rocklands sending 23 boulders 8A and harder including Petrichor (8C) ”Second 8C of the trip. Feels surreal. Had to fight through the pain since this one gave me one of the worst splits of my life (5 of them to be exact). Super cool moves which fit my style really well.”

Can you tell us more about the trip and your hardest sends?
Heey, So, this year I decided to return to Rocklands for another month-long trip, just like last year. Going into the season, I had four main projects in mind: Book Club (8B+), Reverse Cowgirl (8B+), G-Master (8C) and Petrichor (8C). I also hoped to tick off some classics I left behind last year. Since I had already done quite a few of those classics, it was easier to stay in project mode this time around.

The first thing I tried was Book Club, but I got shut down on it pretty quickly, so I decided to move on. Next up was Reverse Cowgirl (8B+), which might be the coolest boulder I climbed in Rocklands this year. It’s a powerful roof climb - exactly the kind of style I enjoy the most. It went down quite fast, in just three sessions.

After that, I wanted to try something harder, so I went straight to G-Master. This one suited me really well: power endurance on small crimps. On the first day, I managed to send both Master Key and Guest List, and I started working out the moves on G-Master. Two days later, I came back focused on unlocking the tricky rose move in the middle. I found my own beta pretty quickly and got through it consistently. After a few good tries, I managed to send it.

The last major climb I tried is Petrichor. It was my final big project of the trip and consists of just five moves - on some of the smallest holds I’ve ever grabbed in Rocklands. I actually came super close to sending it in one session, but in the end it took me four more days, battling through probably the worst splits and fingertip flappers I’ve ever had. Outside of projecting, I also had a blast climbing some awesome dynos. Saifa (8B) and Into the Void (8A+) were definitely the highlights in that category and included one of the coolest moves I've ever done in rock.

All in all, this trip turned out to be even more successful than last year’s, which I’m especially happy about - mainly because I trained way less this season. I was finishing my bachelor's degree (I actually defended my thesis remotely halfway through the trip 😅) and was also dealing with a pretty nasty knee issue.

Niki Rusev has during a four weeks trip to Rocklands sent 23 boulders 8A and beyond including a flash of The Power of One (8B). ”It’s really hard to say how I feel about the grade because I felt like I had climbed it without too much difficulty but there were factors behind it. It fit my style pretty well but mostly if I hadn’t watched the crew climbing until I figure out the way I was going to try, I would have failed !! I’ve been trying to improve my flash go and for what I have no doubts it is a masterpiece and probably my hardest flash so far!”

Can you tell us more about your trip and flashing your first 8B?
After sending Spray of Light (8C) my focus moved to my side goal that was to flash an 8B.

I tried a couple 8B’s earlier in the trip, such as “Sky”, “Moon Shadow”, “Quintessential” and “El Corazon” but I was no where close to send in my first go. Second to last day we went to check out “The power of one” - another classic and amazing boulder in Rocklands.

Didn’t go with the idea to try it for a flash but when I saw the holds closer I thought it may fit my style and I should try anywayy. That day we were a big strong climbing group and we were able to discuss the holds and the moves. This helped me a lot to find the best beta that may work best for me and it worked for the first crux move but the last part was mostly freestyle and body instinct.

I also have mixed feelings about the grade, it’s difficult to say how I felt from just one try. I always want to give the best and honest opinion and not lie to myself but sometimes it is just too hard. I hope I get more experienced in the future!

I’ve never achieved the goals I wanted in my past rock climbing trips but Rocklands was definitely more than successful one!! But I also found myself being weak at short and sustained boulders. I do want work on this style and become stronger for next time. Besides climbing I had so much fun and I will try to come back for sure!

What are your upcoming competition plans?
I’m already back to Bulgaria and started training again for the World Championships in Seoul, Korea. I do enjoy training hard and take the most of every session, by this I will know I did everything I could to prepare the most!

Stefano Ghisolfi has climbed Hazel Grace Sit (8C) at Gottardo, marking his second 8C boulder of the summer. The Italian, known for sending over 60 routes graded 9a to 9b+, recently placed 11th at the Chamonix Lead World Cup. (c) Sara Grippo

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I tried the moves of the stand the first day, sent it the second day and tried the sit start a bit. On the third day I had some really good tries and on the fourth day I fell once at the end and then sent it!

How come you lately have been focusing more on bouldering?
In the summer there are many more places for bouldering than sport climbing, and also thanks to my wife Sara, she loves bouldering so we decided to do more bouldering trips and we are enjoying them. We will focus a bit more on bouldering this summer and maybe in the winter too.

Eva Hammelmüller, with 46 routes 8c to 9a under her belt, has done Folies Bergères (8c+) in La Saume. ”This route is CRAZY!!!! everything - the approach (you start at the 2nd pitch), the location (a perfect little ledge high above the ground), the rock quality, the moves, the slab climbing, even the runouts are absolutely crazy :D I think it deserves the plus compared to the other 8c’s in the crag and the 8c+’s I’ve done recently, but curious for more opinions!”

The following day the 25-year-old sent the 55m long Je suis vindicatif (8c). ”At first I was not sure whether I should try this route, as it links two routes I’ve already done, but the connection pary follows an obvious line which is amazing to climb!! Plus, the new moves are the hardest of the route, so you have a totally new crux section. Made myself the challenge of not checking out the upper part of Lou Merzou, and managed to retro-flash it on my send go!!! Really soft for the grade imo.”

Ryusei Hamada, the standout winner of the Boulder event at the Youth World Championships in Finland, continued his dominance by winning all three rounds in Lead as well. The other champions were Manato Korashiki, also from Japan; Geila Marcia Martin of Spain, who had previously claimed silver in Boulder; and Rafael Kazbekova of Ukraine, the younger sister of Jenya Kazbekova, who won gold 15 years ago. Team Japan once again emerged as the top-performing nation, continuing their long-standing dominance—particularly in the boys’ categories, where Asian climbers excelled overall. Notably, the USA, Austria and Italy each had only two finalists, while Germany had just one, compared to Japan’s 20. Full results here.

Mathieu Ternant has during a one month trip to Rocklands sent six 8B’s, Get Railed (8B+) and Monkey Wedding (8C).

Can you tell us more about your trip and Monkey Wedding?
I’ve been living on Réunion Island for a year now, and I mostly climb alone all year and mainly do first ascents (FAs), so I wasn’t really sure about my level. This trip was a good opportunity to see if the FAs I did were at the right grade.

About "Monkey Wedding"—I started trying it after some sessions on the rope in Get Railed (8B+). I did three short sessions (about 1 hour each) just to try the different sections. After sending "Get Railed", I could focus more on the project and spend some real sessions just working on the boulder. I was still trying other really nice problems between sessions on "Monkey Wedding", because there are just too many boulders to focus on only one...

After one very good session on the project where I managed to optimize all the sections, I felt like I could send it. But it was near the end of my trip, so I started to feel a bit of pressure.

I took three rest days in Cape Town and came back with good skin and full power. I spent three days in a row on the boulder—my last three days of the trip. On the first day, I was too stressed. On the second, I got really close and fell on the last move... On my last day, after a quick warm-up, despite bad skin and feeling tired, I sent it on my second go. What a feeling—I was so happy! It was more of a mental battle than a power one. But... last day, best day? 🤘

All in all, 7 sessions to send it. Really happy to have sent this masterpiece by Fred Nicole. Not the most beautiful line, but definitely a super interesting one.

Can you tell us more about living on Reunion and your FA’s?
I moved here for work, surfing, and to follow my girlfriend, who lives on the island. There are still a lot of boulders to discover—they’re just waiting to be climbed... and I’m trying to find some of them. I really love this part of climbing. I’m psyched to search for new rock, figure out the moves, and climb it… not just consume! It’s such a pleasure to climb something new every session, and it’s a real challenge.

But I have to admit—I also love consuming! Being here in Rocklands and trying hard problems that are already established is also super nice. This trip was a great opportunity to compare, to see if the grades of my FAs were accurate, and to evaluate my own level—because I don’t have many benchmarks on the island. That’s what makes it so challenging, too.

Arthur Ternant has done nine boulders 8B and beyond including The Finnish Line (8C) in Rocklands. We will follow up with an article about the possible strongest twin brothers in the world.

Can you tell us more about the trip and your hardest ascents?
This Rocklands trip was amazing. I came to South Africa with no expectations, because I had been injured for a long time this year (from December to the middle of May). So, no training and not much climbing. I wasn’t even sure I could climb without pain. But in the end, my shape and mindset were really good, and I surprisingly sent some boulders I had in mind really fast (Cosmic Artifact and Get Railed, both 8B+ and really cool) within my first 10 days.

After that, I decided to quickly check out the dream line “Finnish Line” and see how it felt—whether it seemed doable in one trip or not. I spent 3 sessions on the rope to work all the sections well, then came back another day to try it from the bottom. Amazing crew, good vibes, and perfect weather—2 tries from the ground! Such a good feeling. My best climbing moment!

Later, I decided to spend the rest of the trip climbing lots of amazing boulders in the 8A/B grade. And I finished the last week by sending “The Book Club” (8B+).

Max Bertone, currently #8 in the Lead WC, has done La moustache qui fâche (9a+) in Entraygues. The 18-year-old first made headlines doing an 8c+ at age 12. ”Happy to send this one ! I lost a lot of time with a bad hand sequence on the second crux of the route. Today I found it and top immediately after. With this beta I felt the route very soft for the grade. A solid 9a or a soft 9a+ I think.”

How many sessions did it take?
I did 3 sessions last year and this year I did it at the fourth because of a bad hand sequence on the second crux. I finally found the good sequence at the fourth session this year and I did it immediately after.

Can you tell us more about this years comps and what is the plan towards the World Championships?
My season went really well ! My goal was to make a few finals, and I managed to get on the podium in Bali and reach the final in Innsbruck, which was particularly meaningful to me. I’m also happy I had the chance to climb a bit outdoors during the short break between Madrid and Koper. The rest of the season will be a bit calmer: I’ll train in Paris and Innsbruck to prepare for the Koper World Cup in early September. Then I’ll head back to Réunion Island to take my school exams, and finally, I’ll be off to the World Championships at the end of September!